Since the early 20th century, irrigation and hydropower diversion projects have gradually reduced the river's flow.

[6] Some claim the name is a variant of Spanish uba or uva, referring to grapes found growing along the banks of the river.

It flows southwest then west through a 3,000-foot-deep (910 m) canyon past the communities of Downieville (where it receives the Downie River from the north) and Goodyears Bar.

The river widens into upper Englebright Lake near French Bar, and is joined by the South Yuba within the reservoir.

Historians divide indigenous peoples living in the Yuba River area into several groups – the Konkow, Maidu, Nisenan and Miwok.

[9][10] These groups did not function as large tribes; rather, they were divided into hundreds of small villages, with distinct governments but similar customs.

[11] In the 1850s, the California Gold Rush brought large numbers of European-American settlers into the area, followed by many Mexican, African and Chinese immigrants.

[12] The Yuba River and its forks were one of the richest parts of the Mother Lode, and miners poured to the region in great numbers.

[13] Although gold was first extracted by simple methods such as panning and sluicing, large-scale industrial hydraulic mining left a much greater impact.

This raised stream beds up to 50 ft (15 m) in places, buried riverside land under sediment, and increased the risk of flooding.

Daguerre Point Dam was built in 1906 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in order to trap hydraulic mining debris.

The 340 megawatt New Colgate Powerhouse is located about 4 miles (6.4 km) below New Bullards Bar Dam, and it generates over 1.3 billion kilowatt hours of energy per year.

These two interconnected projects generate a combined 1.2 billion kilowatt hours per year[26] and with over 40 dams and reservoirs and 16 powerhouses, are considered the most complex hydroelectric scheme in the United States.

[29] This breach released millions of gallons of mine waste into Spring and Shady creeks, drained and contaminated 12 local wells through the oxidation of naturally occurring heavy metals- including a well that supplied drinking water to a local K-8 school.

[29] Pumping groundwater at this scale would likely deplete the underground aquifer that provides water to hundreds of community members.